Innovativt paketera

Många av produkterna, som har varit innovativa över åren, har varit lyckade som ett resultat av att paketera som har gjort dess jobb. När paketera göras väl och framkallas väl, ska du nedgången som var förälskad med produkten som ett resultat. Ibland är framgången av en produkt fullständigt anhörigen på att paketera som är det arbeten. Allt behöver att paketera i något bildar av another, och, när de paketera arbetena, produkten som within innehålls, är rimliga att fungera som väl.

Det har vart en bred variation av den olika produkten som paketerar innovationer som har kommit att göra våra liv ett lott lättare. Det finns också ett nummer av olika typer av emballerade produkter, som vi ansar enkelt för att ta för beviljat, utan nödvändigtvis att realisera hur paketera gjorde produktmöjligheten. Till exempel kunde vi ha potatisen gå i flisor, eller paketerar ägg utan deras? Det finns det dussintals olika ägget tappar strider all över landet som rymms för att skapa unika paketera alternativ för ägg. Kunde vi ha toothpaste utan det unika emballaget som makes det möjligheten? Kunde vi poppa mikrovågpopcorn utan dess unikt hänger lös?

Det finns förbluffa riktigt listar av att paketera innovationer som har varit kompetent till påverkan våra vardagsliv. Det har finnas en myriad av olika viktiga emballageinnovationer som har framkallats i de sist femtio åren eller så. Det finns en nyckel- radda uttrycker som används regelbundet, när du beskriver innovationer i världen av produkten som paketerar, benämner däribland likt microwavable, hyllastall, boxas fruktsaft, målutbytet, och allt hem- mål är benämner som har kommit som riktar resultat från innovationer i världen av att paketera för produkt. What many companies are now facing is how they can integrate innovative packaging concepts into their own project packaging in order to get the most out of their product packaging while utilizing the newest technologies as well as the most effective ways of packaging something.

How can you take your current type of packaging and somehow improve upon it? Looking at packaging innovations in the food industry is an excellent way to see how companies have been able to make packaging work for them. For examples, Sargento cheese was the first cheese company to put a reclosable zipper on the packaging for their shredded cheese. Wishbone Salad Dressing was the first company to develop salad dressing that could be sprayed rather than poured. Clorox developed a bleaching application capable of being applied directly to a stain, a Clorox bleach pen. By looking at these examples, it should not be impossible for you to see what it means to make packaging work for you. If your product can be improved upon in some way based on its packaging, or if you can somehow develop packaging that is innovative, then you are definitely making your packaging work for you.

Polyethylene Bagging Services

There are always new and outstanding opportunities for packaging retail products.

For example, an item in a poly bag with a header could be upgraded to a blister pack and garner a higher price point due to a greater perceived value. Or a product on a skin board could be packaged into a clamshell and, not only look better, but offer greater protection from damage.

Recently a major snack food manufacturer discovered that the printed polyethylene sack offered numerous benefits over the corrugate trays they had been using for their individual snack items. Not only did the printed sacks cost less than the printed trays but consumers loved the brighter and snappier graphics available on the plastic sacks and thus bought more product!

The brown bag with a handle on it has been around grocery and department stores for decades but the idea of delivering multiple single serve units within a sack just hadn?t caught on in the manufacturing arena. That is, not until high impact graphics were added and a manufacturing system that could be used to package large numbers of sacks within a single shift.

But how did this revolutionary sacking technology and solution evolve?

Aaron Thomas Company, working with the FORMOST Equipment Corporation, took basic bread bagging equipment and re-engineered the loading areas and in-feed designs to handle the loading of multiple single-serve corn and potato chip bags into pre-made printed sacks. The mechanisms necessary to automatically fill the sacks were then fine tuned to neatly pack the sacks with organized rows of product to reduce damage and enhance customer satisfaction.

Later, a process to automatically seal the bags with standard or double heat seals was incorporated as was in-line pass or fail check weighing validation, automatic bag labeling, and multi-wicket sack feeding. It took almost a year to incorporate all the modifications necessary to maximize production throughput and to minimize production costs.

This revolutionary packaging technology is now available in all three of our locations. It has even been co-opted by our client and is used now nationwide in each of their manufacturing facilities! This resulted in our being honored with the prestigious ?Contract Manufacturing Supplier of the Year? award in recognition of our efforts and accomplishments.

As you can see, packaging revolutions are challenging but not impossible if the right conditions are met. First, you need a strong vision of how you want your product packaged and the benefits it offers over existing packaging solutions. Second, you need a product that has the volume and longevity to justify the emotional buy-in and capital investment of your contract packaging partners. And finally, you need a contract packager that has the ability to think out side the box? or tray in this case? to get the job done.

Packaging Inventions That Save Lives

I just returned from speaking at an invention show on how to package your invention to sell. I saw a lot of great, innovative products that had a lot of merit. Some of them could become the next, new, “hot” consumer product. However, what struck me the most was that everyone focused on what they were developing not whether it would appeal to the consumer. They seemed to even ignore a consumer need for their product.

I watched American Inventor while I was in away and that same judgment was reinforced. People invented things that had absolutely no market potential whatsoever. Not matter how clever, catchy or innovative the packaging might be to lure the consumer into the purchase, it can’t save these inventions from an unmitigated disaster.

It got me to thinking about unfulfilled or unmet needs of the consumer. These are needs that we all face, whether we know it or not. How does the package play a role in satisfying a consumer need or creating consumer satisfaction?

Look at the growth of the prepared or ready to eat market. All these new food products have been developed because the packaging allows the product to be created. Without the package, the product couldn’t even exist. The consumer?s lack of time is a major unfulfilled need and consumer goods companies are creating products that address that demand

Take an everyday item such toothpaste. Where would we be without the package? Consumers never even think about why that product package was created and how it works to contain and dispense the product while keeping it sanitary. The toothpaste tube fulfilled a need.

The next great wave of packaging innovation and inventions will come from problems not yet resolved or ones that haven’t hit the consumer awareness button. Be aware of issues such as security and integrity of the products we buy and consume. Look at all the recent flourish of product recalls and contamination issues: pet food, peanut butter, common everyday items that could kill you or your pet. Are consumers getting worried and paying attention? You bet! Just from the pet food issue alone there has been a slow down of pet food sales and an onslaught of people making homemade pet food.

Getting back to toothpaste, have you read about the Chinese counterfeit toothpaste that is here in the US? It?s quite obvious (according to what I saw in the news) that by looking at the packaging (misspellings and so on) that it’s not a legitimate product (that is only obvious if you read the package, of course). The warning signals are there for the consumer to see. But what if the packaging looks normal and the product inside is contaminated? In the next wave of innovation, the package may tell us if the product is bad, contaminated or counterfeit. Seriously, the package may talk, change colors, or do a myriad of other things to inform the consumer to be wary.

A packaging company just sent me this staggering statistic. “Product tampering at the retail level is growing at more than 13 percent each year.” That’s scary. So, what is your packaging innovation that could nip that in the bud or prove that the product had been tampered with before the consumer purchased it? That is a huge an unmet need. It is an important one because most consumers don’t recognize until it?s too late. Remember the Tylenol poisonings? That created havoc, after the fact. It created a whole new category of product packaging “tamper-evident.”

So think about future consumer issues. Product security is going to continue to grow. We have just seen the beginning of the consumer?s awareness to it. Can you create a packaging innovation that will inspire trust and create peace of mind? Think about the untapped market potential and opportunity for the next packaging invention that can save lives.

About the Author:

JoAnn Hines is the Chief Executive Officer at J.R. Hines International, a firm providing consulting services in the packaging industry. For over 30 years, Ms. Hines has been engaged in packaging trends, forecasting, ideation/brainstorming and implementing innovative new packaging technologies.

Need insights on packaging trends that can impact your business? Get the Packaging Diva on your team. Visit PackagingUniversity.com to find out about the latest packaging innovations.

Packaging That Works

What products have you purchased lately that you really loved the packaging?

One that you have not complained that it’s over packaged but felt like the package really worked in conjunction with the product inside.

There have been lots of great new packaging innovations that have made our lives easier. There are also so many packaged products that we simply take for granted never understanding that the packaging make it possible. These are everyday items that we never consider how they got to us.

Would we have potato chips without a package? No way.

What about eggs? Did you know that every year there are dozens of egg drop competitions around the country creating new and unique product packaging for eggs? Have you popped any popcorn in the microwave lately? It?s the packaging that makes microwave popcorn possible. How about toothpaste? Are you making your own or are you like the majority of people that buy it prepackaged?

The list of packaging innovations that influence our daily lives is astounding.

I worked on a project a couple of years ago to list the most important packaging innovations in the last 50 years. There were so many choices that it was hard to select the top ten. Terms like microwaveable, juice box, shelf stable, home meal replacement are direct results of product packaging innovation.

Now we can?t all come up with packaging innovations that revolutionize a product category. But how can you integrate innovation concepts into YOUR product packaging?

Let me give you a few examples to start you thinking:

• Domino Foods took sugar out of a paper bag and put it into a resalable plastic canister.
• Sargento Cheese put a reclosable zipper on its shredded cheese packaging.
• Heinz Catsup not only created an upside down dispenser but shaped the bottle to fit inside the refrigerator door.
• Wishbone Salad Dressing developed a spritzable salad dressing instead of pourable.
• Clorox bleach pen that allows a bleaching application to be applied directly to the stain.

All of these packaging concepts had the consumer in mind when they developed alternative packaging methods. In some cases, they fulfilled an unmet consumer need, in other cases they made our lives easier.

So what can your product packaging do? How will it answer a consumer desire, want or need? If the package is integral to your product then you better start thinking of how you will answer that question. Here is a start to get those creative juices flowing.

• What can your package do that isn?t being done currently?
• Can you make it easier to use?
• Can you dispense the product in a different manner?
• Can you extend the life expectancy of a particular product?
• Can you offer it in different sizes or shapes than the current market?
• Can you use less packaging materials or environmentally responsible ones?
• Can you make it easier to store or handle?
• Can you make it easier to read or understand what is inside?

Even more revolutionary, can your product tell the consumer when the product is spoiled, bad or has been tampered with? Yes, that technology is out there. Look for it to be the coming wave of new package innovation.

Any package innovation that provides product security, integrity and ensures the product is uncontaminated is a winner. It is imperative that it fulfill a consumer need for product trust.

All of these above are consumer wants, desires, issues or needs. How can you provide them the product packaging that works in satisfying these (in many cases) unmet needs?

About the Author:

JoAnn Hines is the Chief Executive Officer at J.R. Hines International, a firm providing consulting services in the packaging industry. For over 30 years, Ms. Hines has been engaged in packaging trends, forecasting, ideation/brainstorming and implementing innovative new packaging technologies.

Need insights on packaging trends that can impact your business? Get the Packaging Diva on your team. Visit PackagingUniversity.com to find out about the latest packaging innovations.

The Purpose Of Packaging Design

Package design is not decoration. Did you know that 80 percent of all purchasing decisions are made in-store? As traditional media is being revolutionized right before our eyes, your packaging will most likely be the first introduction a consumer has to your product and we all know how important first impressions are. Your package is a valuable asset that can make or break the sale of your item and should be considered as important as the item itself. After all, no one is even going to try your product if the package is not appealing? there?s simply too much competition to choose from.

Let?s review four key packaging attributes that should be considered prior to making any packaging decisions. Innovation, visibility, content and appeal.

Innovation

The buzzword in product development today is innovation. You can only color and shape a toilet brush in so many ways before you have to start considering how to change the mechanics of the product, thus the invention of disposable heads. The same theory can be applied to packaging design.

Take Target?s pharmaceutical packaging for example. For years your pills were delivered in the same cylindrical bottle with the same small text and illegible instructions. Hopefully you didn?t have more than one family member with prescriptions or else your medicine cabinet really became confusing. With the innovation of Target?s bottle, not only do you know whom the prescription is for by the color band but also the name of the medication as it is clearly indicated on the top of the bottle. Target?s slimmer bottle design allows for a better fit in your cabinet and easier-to-read text on a non-curved surface. Target?s innovation of the pill bottle was a great way to kick off their new pharmacy and draw a following of consumers who were looking for a better experience.

Visibility

The visibility attribute sets your product apart from your competitors. Before beginning a package design project, a category audit should be conducted. It is important to discover who your shelf neighbors are and what attributes they possess in order to design for difference.

Think about the vegetable aisle in your grocery store. Everything is green. Yes, it must be green or the consumer will not buy it. Shoppers expect green for their vegetables and red for their sauces ? there is no getting around that. So what can someone do to stand out on a shelf with those kinds of constraints? How about simplify. Recently Publix redesigned their generic items. Not only do the Publix products retain the bargain look, but the simplicity of the design actually makes the product stand off the shelf in a world of green. It is not the most elaborate design but it is perfect for a brand of that price point. Their redesign jumps off the shelf far quicker than many of their counterparts.

Content

Examine the difference between Nordstoms and JC Penney. You walk into Nordstroms and your senses are immediately affected. The sound of a piano player in the middle of the store and the fact that you are not bombarded with sale items or cluttered aisles of merchandise allude to a feeling of elite. You immediately sense that the store is upscale. Now think about JC Penney, you can barely walk through the store without knocking something over nor can you see past 10 feet in front of you as the aisles of merchandise are stacked high. This environmental scenario will tell you that somewhere in JC Penney there is a bargain for you. Neither of these scenarios is incorrect. It is all about your brand and how you want your product or service to be perceived.

Content for packaging works similarly. If you clutter your package with flashy stickers of ?New!? or ?As Seen on TV?, expect to set your product to a lower price point. On the contrary, develop a package with a sleek design and less clutter, expect a perception of higher quality and set your product at a higher price point. Remember, you still must uphold your brand promise. Putting junk in a nice box does not change the fact that it is junk.

Appeal

Lastly, the most important attribute is appeal. The word attribute is used loosely in this case, as appeal has to do with the combination of Innovation, Visibility and Content. After you have examined these key attributes, you must determine if your solution is appealing. The best way to determine appeal is to conduct research specific to your objectives.

As television ad viewers and radio listeners decrease due to a recent shift in lifestyle habits, the importance of your package speaking for you is immeasurable. Your package is akin to a first impression of your product and company. Uniqueness, appearance and content determine whether a person is worth engaging in conversation and the same goes for your product. Make sure that your product can easily make that leap from shelf to hand.

About the Author

Laura Denman is the Strategy Director for XO Create! who provides expertise in package design for the youth market. XO Create! assists organizations in positioning and moving product through compelling packaging solutions. You can contact Laura at (678) 319-4242 or by mailing:

XO Create!
1320 Union Hill Industrial Court, Suite C
Alpharetta, GA. 30004

Green Packaging Innovations

Wow, have I been flooded with a host of new “green” packaging innovations. Everyone is jumping on the environmentalist?s green band wagon. I am constantly asked if environmental sustainability is a flash in the pan. If this is any indication, the recent Sustainable Packaging Forum was sold out with attendees looking for the latest packaging news in saving the environment.

I have joked before that packaging is the true cause of “global warming.” But seriously, what is the reality? What is the real truth behind companies touting green packaging for the benefit of society?

Environmental issues are a hot topic right now, so people are climbing aboard. Global warming topics are on the news daily and people are looking for scapegoats as to its cause. Companies such as Wal-Mart are driving manufacturers to consider more environmentally friendly options in their packaging materials.

• Wal-Mart just unveiled their packaging scorecard to continue their commitment of reducing packaging across its global supply chain by 5 percent by 2013.

The packaging industry is often chastised for having unfriendly environmental policies. I’m not here to debate this point, but I do want to talk about using environmental issues in a positive and realistic manner.

Let’s take the word “green” as an example. Obviously, we think of the color first. But what about the variations of the definition that relate to packaging? How green is your packaging world?

• Green could mean less damage to the environment.
• Green could imply producing packaging from renewable resources.
• Green could entail designing products for environmental sustainability.
• Green could connote the use of less material and recyclable and degradable materials.

So “green” can be maximized for branding purposes in a host of different ways. If you have a “green” packaging product what ways are you capitalizing on the current media exposure? (In addition to sending out a press announcement.) Here are a few points to consider:

• Did you support or promote participation in any Earth Day activities?
• Do you belong to one of the many organizations that support “green” and the environment?
• Did you orchestrate your new packaging introduction to coincide with Earth Day or other environmental events?
• Have you submitted your green product to the numerous packaging associations that offer opportunities for environmental awards?
• Have you submitted your package to any of the non packaging related organizations that have “environmental” awards?
• Do you have a plan in place for your staff to understand and utilize in order to build your “green” brand?
• Do your employees believe in being “green?” (This is a very important buy in.)
• Have you looked at any websites such as TreeHugger.com (great site with lots about packaging) to see what they are doing?

Sure it seems a bit far fetched but Treehugger lives in the blogosphere world and we all know how important blogging is to the media. Try a quick Google search for “green packaging.” Yes, there are a few products listed but what is more important is what is not there. A huge area of untapped marketing potential is available for increasing the visibility for your packaging products.

No matter how unusual or “out there” the opportunity seems do not under estimate who will see and read about your “green” brand. The branding hot spots I want you to think about are:

1. Is your “green” packaging product is a flash in the pan?
2. Has there been serious brand integration of the “green” message throughout your company?
3. Are you using your “green” message in all the promotion, literature and media exposure?

The reality begs this question. Are you packaging “greenwash” to capitalize on a current media trend or are you saving the environment with “true” environmentally friendly packaging?

About the Author:

JoAnn Hines is the Chief Executive Officer at J.R. Hines International, a firm providing consulting services in the packaging industry. For over 30 years, Ms. Hines has been engaged in packaging trends, forecasting, ideation/brainstorming and implementing innovative new packaging technologies.

Need insights on packaging trends that can impact your business? Get the Packaging Diva on your team. Visit PackagingUniversity.com to find out about the latest packaging innovations.